Man who died on Bibby Stockholm tricked' into going on barge, inquest told

"An asylum seeker who died onboard the Bibby Stockholm was tricked into going to the barge after point blank refusing, an inquest has heard. Leonard Farruku, 27, from Albania, was found unresponsive in a shower cubicle onboard the accommodation vessel at Portland Port, Dorset, on 12 December 2023. On Monday, the inquest in Bournemouth also heard from a senior Home Office official that perhaps an email from their contractor raising urgent concerns about Farruku in the weeks before he died should have been followed up."

"Farruku was previously accommodated at the Esplanade Hotel in Paignton, Devon, and began to show disturbed behaviour in July 2023. Ashley Rangasamy,a community worker at Torbay Community Trust, told the hearing he had witnessed Farruku being violent in the hotel lobby when he turned over a table and that Farruku had two modes, either fine or very angry. Rangasamy said Farruku was distraught about the idea of being taken to the barge. He was just angry and sad, he said."

Leonard Farruku, 27, from Albania, was found unresponsive in a shower cubicle onboard the accommodation vessel at Portland Port, Dorset, on 12 December 2023. Farruku had been accommodated at the Esplanade Hotel in Paignton and began exhibiting disturbed behaviour in July 2023, including overturning a table in the hotel lobby and alternating between appearing calm and very angry. Farruku resisted transfer to the Bibby Stockholm and was reportedly told he would go to a Swindon hotel before being placed on the barge. A senior Home Office official said an email from a contractor raising urgent concerns about Farruku in the weeks before his death perhaps should have been followed up. Other residents who transferred to the barge reported concerns about his behaviour. The Home Office deputy director stated the barge use in a port setting was a first for the department.

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